Considering property (Anchorage, Fairbanks: homes, buyers, camping)

[willdufauve]

Just passing through....This some of the most interesting stuff I've read in a while. I hope you get what you're looking for.

[English_Nurse]

I finally submitted the forms and downpayment on a Lot of land at Deadman Lake today. I noticed that the number of parcels available is dropping quickly. This week, it went from 25 remaining to 20 remaining. And a month ago there were 36 remaining. It's vaguely reassuring to know that either everyone else is as crazy as me, or that getting the land is a good move.
This forum has been pretty helpful. I didn't realize that there were two Deadman Lakes in Alaska... The one where the land is for sale has no road access. But, the Serum Run Sled Trail does pass by the Northern edge of the lake. It's 25 miles from Manley Hot Springs to the Lake via the Trail, but various people tell me the Trail is only accessible in the Winter. The other option is to get a boat from Nenana and go down the Tanana river, get dropped off and hike the four miles to the south east side of the lake.
I could fly in, but that's no use to me because I want to haul in some materials for building my cabin.
That's my biggest issue right now. If I go in the Winter then I can haul the equipment in by snowmobile, but I won't be able to do any work as it will be too cold and the ground too frozen. But if I go in by boat, in the summer/spring, then I'll have to haul the equipment the 4 miles to the site. That's probably the best option so far. I can do it over several trip. 4 miles isn't too far, but hiking through spruce forest with bags of cement doesn't sound like much fun.
There are twelve other cabins on the lake, so I'm curious what they do for access and how they built their cabins. I've emailed one of them who runs a Lodge on the south end of the lake - no reply as of yet.
Anyone who lives in Old Minto/Baker/Nenana areas and knows about access to the lake, if you can offer suggestions I'd be very grateful!

[Marty Van Diest]

A lot of people who build cabins like that actually fly all the materials in by float plane, but that gets expensive quickly.

The most economical, and to me, most reasonable way is to fly or hike in during the summer to set your foundation. Then bring in the rest of your materials in the winter by snowmachine. March is the best month because you have plenty of ice and plenty of snow. It's the snow and ice that opens up the bush country. You can't travel over the muskeg.

[codwyguy]

I was looking in to deadman lake also. You cant get their by any wheeled vehicle. I e-mailed the pepole that have the lodge their and also a guy that lives in manley hotsprings he said that the telegraph road is too marshy and crosses to many creeks for access in the summer look on the alaska DNR website their are lots of lots avalible at the deadman lake subdevision I live in wyoming and I am looking for property in Alaska also but I am not planning on living their year around.

[arctichomesteader]

English Nurse, I too recently (about 2 1/2 weeks before you did) sent in a downpayment on 20 acres of land from the DNR (elsewhere, not Deadman lake, but still close to Manley Hot Springs FWIW) and the letter I got (I also got a receipt for the payment too) stated it would take an estimated 4 to 6 months to issue a contract (actual time could be shorter or longer depending on actual workload at the office, though, it's just an estimate), and several months following pay off to get a land patent. So you're looking at pretty late in the summer, possibly, getting to it...you can camp on it and such if you want before getting the contract it appears (or patent if you pay it off all at once) but you can't do any clearing or building until you get one or the other. Good luck...I hope I get my contract by June so I can get to work on a cabin and clearing some space for gardens...July would be pushing things tight but still possible, August would push my plans back a year...I still need to pay it off but I'd rather have something done this year on it...

Oh, BTW, I considered Deadman Lake or Iksgiza Lake also but after adding up the costs of transportation (high!), I went with something with road access, not near any big city, but road accessible...I still may eventually buy some land at one of the two lakes, as I'd like having some land near a lake, and they're both cheap, but I won't be living full time at either one of the lakes if I do...

[Glitch]

Originally Posted by English_Nurse

I finally submitted the forms and downpayment on a Lot of land at Deadman Lake today. I noticed that the number of parcels available is dropping quickly. This week, it went from 25 remaining to 20 remaining. And a month ago there were 36 remaining. It's vaguely reassuring to know that either everyone else is as crazy as me, or that getting the land is a good move.
This forum has been pretty helpful. I didn't realize that there were two Deadman Lakes in Alaska... The one where the land is for sale has no road access. But, the Serum Run Sled Trail does pass by the Northern edge of the lake. It's 25 miles from Manley Hot Springs to the Lake via the Trail, but various people tell me the Trail is only accessible in the Winter. The other option is to get a boat from Nenana and go down the Tanana river, get dropped off and hike the four miles to the south east side of the lake.
I could fly in, but that's no use to me because I want to haul in some materials for building my cabin.
That's my biggest issue right now. If I go in the Winter then I can haul the equipment in by snowmobile, but I won't be able to do any work as it will be too cold and the ground too frozen. But if I go in by boat, in the summer/spring, then I'll have to haul the equipment the 4 miles to the site. That's probably the best option so far. I can do it over several trip. 4 miles isn't too far, but hiking through spruce forest with bags of cement doesn't sound like much fun.
There are twelve other cabins on the lake, so I'm curious what they do for access and how they built their cabins. I've emailed one of them who runs a Lodge on the south end of the lake - no reply as of yet.
Anyone who lives in Old Minto/Baker/Nenana areas and knows about access to the lake, if you can offer suggestions I'd be very grateful!

I think your plan about moving your equipment in during the winter and then begin construction in the Spring may work the best. Not that you couldn't hike in your equipment the 4 miles during the summer, but it would be a lot more work. It isn't the trees in the forest that are the problem, it is the undergrowth. With 20+ hour days the vegetation grows quite rapidly, and very thick. By late May you will find that 4 mile hike very slow going until you have a well established trail.

[150/70]

Vancefish,

A few years back, I was interested and ready to buy a house that was about a hundred plus feet from the Tanana River. This house was betweeen Delta Junction and Salcha. Due to my wife's resistant, I held off. Fortunately for me, the Tanana thawed in the spring and took out the house. Where the house used to stand is now in the middle of the river.
My point? Between the Nenana and the Tanana rivers, erosion is a big problem. The rivers may wreak havoc in the surrounding properties and may ruin your dream. There are other beautiful areas near the water but safer you may want to look at. I know you did not ask for it but its my nickle's worth of advice. This will save you from potential problems regarding

[English_Nurse]

The fact that the property is difficult to access actually appeals to me in the long run. When I say 'difficult', it means snowmobile in the winter or fly in during the summer (or a very hard hike). It will be harder to get building materials to the site. But I think towing equipment on sleds behind a snowmobile will work. I need to get the sonotubes and cement there. I am going to give myself a few weeks just for this, ferrying the equipment from Manley Hot Springs along the old Telegraph Trail.
Then in the summertime I can actually begin construction.
There are certainly pros and cons as far as access goes.
I'm not too concerned about river erosion though, given that deadman lake is 4 miles from the Tenana and on sloping/elevated ground.
I will keep you all updated on this forum as to my progress and the obstacles I face once I actually get there.

[eineye]

As a young man living in Germany, my dream was to move to the wilderness of Alaska. My German wife wouldn't hear of it, so it remained a dream. Now, At 65 years, the dream is still there and, now, I can vicariously live that old dream through threads, such as this. English Nurse, I wish I had had the fire that you have. I will continue to read this thread from time to time and try to experience, with you, your progress in your and your family's new life.

[English_Nurse]

It's inspiring to hear how much interest this thread has attracted.
A month ago, my seven-year-old step son had to go to the Doctor. He had lost a lot of weight and had blood in his stool. The Doctor ran some blood tests and discovered he was very anemic. We took him to the hospital where he had an endoscopy which showed that he has diffuse Inflammatory Bowel Disease. An autoimmune disease which causes the body to attach itself, resulting in ulceration and infection in the bowel. No cure. He was given a blood transfusion and we took him home. The following day he woke up with a cold arm. Later, he lost the ability to grip things with his right hand. I took him to the Emergency Room and explained that I thought he was having a Stroke. They did a CT scan which showed he had a massive bleed on the left side of his brain. I accompanied him on the LifeFlight to Portland where he had further MRI's and CT scans which showed a clot had blocked a vessel in his brain causing the vein to burst and bleed into the surrounding tissue. He was completely paralysed down his right side, unable to speak, screaming in agony and hysterical. Every time they gave him pain meds he would drift off to sleep and then they would have to wake him up again within the hour to do neuro checks on him. This continued for several days. His mother and I at his bedside in a state of shock.
The past few weeks he has been in Legacy Emanuel Hospital in Portland getting rehab. He can now walk again, talk again, and regained some strength in his fingers. But the chances of him having another, potentially fatal clot are anywhere between 50 -80% over the next two years. They cannot treat him, because if they put him on anti-coagulants to stop him getting another clot then that will make him more susceptible to bleeding and subsequently more likely to have a flare up of his Inflammatory Bowel Disease, and the Doctors believe it is during these 'flare ups' that his blood clots irregularly.
My point is, perhaps it is selfish or escapist of me, I don't think so, but now more than ever I have felt the urgency of pursuing that dream of a cabin in Alaska.
My goal is to one day have my son there on the porch of the cabin I have built with my own hands, as we sit and watch the Northern Lights. Far away from the busy ugly cities and crazy self absorbed people. From abortion pills, pregnant men (Google search the transexual in Bend Oregon who was once a woman, had a sex change, is now a man, but is pregnant!), cellular phones and all the ugly messed up things that make this world such an oppressive, vicious place. Back to the purity of the snow, the wildness and wonder of nature. That is all I want. For him to know that before he dies. To share that dream.
I hope I'm not imposing my ideals onto him. Perhaps I am. Who knows for sure. But I do know that it is the one thing that keeps me strong and gives me a sense of direction. So that cannot be altogether wrong.
I sent off all the application forms and licensing fees for my Alaskan RN license last week. It will take a few months to process, but I am hoping to get up to Deadman Lake sometime this Winter, and snow mobile the sonotubes, cement, tools, etc into the site.
At some point in the future I may be able to live, simply, off-the-grid, in the cabin, and work a few weeks a year at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital to earn enough money for to live for the rest of the year how I've always dreamt of living.
Ever since I was a child I've always felt that the world was an odd place. Astounded how adults could carry on so calmly when things like death and infinity exist. Almost as if they were pretending to be stupid or ignorant. A complex masquerade. I ran away from Kindergarten when I was 5 years old. I made it 3 miles away.
I ran away from home when I was 16 years old, after planning my departure for the previous three years. I lived in Dublin for two years independently, then returned to England to get an education.
I left England for America and married my wife. A crazy, but passionate and caring woman.
Life is not for living in comfortable mediocrity. It is a rare opportunity to do something spectacular. To prove something to yourself. To be true to your sense of adventure. To renounce the things you know are wrong and leave them far behind.
For me, that's a cabin in Alaska. That's my family. It's finding somewhere I can get back in touch with my spirit without feeling I'm working for the man or supporting a society/culture that condones war, abortion pills, sexual depravity and all the rest. A society that is driven by consumerism and not compassion.
There are good people out there. But there are also many many evil people. I want a place where my friends can come and stay and just spend some quality time with each other without seeing a billboard for some cosmetic product or being cut up by some rich idiot in a sports car on the Freeway.
It's more complicated than this. And yet is is also very simple. It's a gut feeling I have.